FLINT, MI -- Growing up in Great Britain, Young Guns lead singer Gustav Wood always wanted to be in a band.

But now that he's in an act that is finding success with the single "Bones," Wood wants to make his mark on America.

"I'm always wary of saying 'We want to break America,'" Wood said during recent interview. "It's such a trite thing to say. Of course, it's so hard. But it's definitely something we want to try and do. I feel more comfortable saying that.

Compared to The Gaslight Anthem and Lucero, Young Guns -- which also includes guitarists Fraser Taylor and John Taylor, bassist Simon Mitchell and drummer Ben Jolliffe -- has emerged as one of the U.K.'s most intense new bands, thanks to the album "Bones." It has garnered heavy radio play and U.K. chart success.

"The U.K. has a great music industry, is a wonderful place," said Wood, who grew up listening to American rock music. "You can get your name out there quickly if you work hard. It also means, of course, there's only so far you can go. America's the Holy Grail, really. Rock music is so popular. It's exciting to go there.

"I think it's easier to break England because it's smaller. From what I remember, Nirvana took off over here in a big way before they did in the States. That's because word of mouth is easier over here. We have a national radio station, in the form of Radio 1. If you have your PR people service the song for the radio and the controllers like it, you've got national airplay. Whereas in America there's hundreds of rock radio station and they're all completely different in different parts of the country."

Wood explained there are "loads" of good bands in the United Kingdom that do not get the chance to get their voices heard.

Not so with "Bones" and Young Guns.

The video for the title track has surpassed the one million views mark and is in the Top 20 at Active Rock.

"We are always pretty quick on ourselves," Wood said. "But this time, we wrote an album that we genuinely believe is a really strong record. I have no doubt we'll write better and that's the task we're facing now. We're really proud of 'Bones' and I think and hope it has something American audiences can connect with. Our goal has always been to write music that doesn't sound like a U.K. band or a U.S. band. But just sounds universal."

Young Guns will play tracks from its new album at The Machine Shop in Flint on Tuesday, Dec. 11, when it opens for Deuce. Wood said the band emphasizes creating an atmosphere and setting the energy level high at shows.

"It's super important," he said. "It's not impossible (for the audience) to see a band they've never heard of and really enjoy themselves. I don't think you need to know songs by heart to have a great time at the show. Sometimes the best time in the world is going to a show and hearing a band you've never heard before. I think you have to make sure you do something that people will remember. Energy is really important. We play really hard. We play fast. We play loud and we really try to work the crowd. We try and get them involved, even though they've never heard a single note of our music. "

Young Guns along with Longreef and New Medicine open for Deuce
7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 11
The Machine Shop, 3539 S. Dort Highway, Flint
$10 in advance for the 18 and older show
(810) 715-2650 or etix.com